


Ink

by feb1



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Gen, Humor, Josh just wants to tattoo, M/M, Tattoos, Tumblr Prompt, Tyler is a little weird, it sucks don't read it, joshler - Freeform, platonic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-12
Updated: 2017-09-12
Packaged: 2018-12-26 23:49:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12069474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/feb1/pseuds/feb1
Summary: Tyler pulls his sleeve up to his elbow in one swift movement, looking down towards his forearm. "I want a singular line," he points just beneath a freckle, "Here."Or, Tyler gets a tally mark tattoo'd every time he comes into Josh's studio.Josh doesn't know what he's counting.





	Ink

The sound of the door alarm was music to Josh's ears. It was his last appointment of the day, lucky number thirteen walking into the empty studio where everything seemed dead, besides the heavy music lingering around. 

Josh stood from his seat and approached the front desk, fingers crossed behind his back in hopes that this client doesn't plan on taking up more an hour of his time. 

"You must be Tyler," Josh begins, startling the man in front of him who was concentrating too hard on one of the band posters on the wall. He looked tired, his hair messed up and eyes begging to be closed. Josh raised his brow after a few seconds of silence, the lack of response making him uneasy. "Unless you're.."

"No, I am, Tyler. Me," quickly leaves the other mans mouth, one of his hands pulling from his hoodie pocket to reach up and rub at his chin, pinching his lower lip between his finger and thumb. Josh watches, too exhausted to even question the anxious behaviour of the man. He just wants to go home. 

"Alright, sick. You ready? Got a design in mind?" 

Josh asks, jerking his head to invite Tyler to follow him towards his setup. He tried to make his section as inviting as possible, some lights hanging in the corner, pillows on the chair so his clients don't move too much while they're being inked. 

Tyler stands beside the chair before Josh tells him to sit down, making the nervous man delicately slide onto the soft leather. Josh stares at him expectantly, whatever Tyler says next will determine whether he'll be home before midnight or not. Something tells him he won't be. "Oh," 

Tyler starts, tugging his sleeve up to his elbow in one swift movement, looking down towards his forearm. "I want a singular line," he points just beneath a freckle, "Here."

Tyler looks up at Josh, who's looking back at him with squinted eyes. He's confused, at best. "A line?" Josh asks, the alcohol wipe he was ripping open paused in his fingertips. Tyler nods once in affirmation, looking back to his bare skin. 

"A line."

"What kind of line?"

"A small one. Thin." 

Josh wants to question it. 

"Okay."

He doesn't. Instead, he positions Tyler's arm in a way that's comfortable for both of them, before getting to work at sanitising the space and running over it quickly with a razor. He can feel Tyler watching, and pours a small amount of ink into a cap before looking up at him. 

"You want me to draw it on first?" He asks while slipping on a glove, not really wanting to do the wrong thing to Tyler. Despite how odd the request was. 

"No. Freehand it." Tyler replies, closing his eyes and leaning his head back against the rest on the chair. 

Josh does as he's told. It takes less than five seconds for him to tattoo a small line on Tyler's pale arm, putting the machine down and wiping it over to rid it of the excess ink. He looks down at his 'work', and up to Tyler, who hasn't opened his eyes. 

"That's it?" Josh asks, catching the attention of the other who sees his new line, staring hard at it. 

Josh doesn't know what the hell is going on. There's no talk for an entire minute. This man is eerie, Josh's palms are getting a little clammy. He prays to God it's fine enough to make Tyler leave. 

"It's perfect," Tyler finally says, a smile spreading on his lips when he looks back up to Josh. 

Josh would feel relieved, if he wasn't so uncomfortable. He just nods, wrapping the small section of Tyler's arm and switches everything off, sending Tyler towards the front desk with 'I'll meet you there in a sec,'.

 

 

 

"How much?" Tyler asks while pulling a leather wallet from the back pocket of his jeans. 

And. Josh doesn't really know. 

He doesn't usually do things this small or simple. His usual minimum was twenty, but a half inch line isn't worth that much. 

"Uhh.. ten dollars? I guess?" Josh's answers, scratching the back of his neck while Tyler pulls out a few dollar notes, placing them on the counter and sliding them over. 

"I have eight." Tyler says quietly, biting his cheek while he looks across to Josh. 

Josh still wants him out. He's so tired. 

"Eight is fine," his hand reaches out and swipes the notes off of the counter, bundling them and putting them in the till. 

Tyler thanks him, and Josh begins to explain the aftercare, just as he does to anyone. 

"You'll wanna remove the plastic in about an hour, then-"

"I know, I've gotten one before." Tyler interrupts, pulling his sleeve carefully over the wrapped line. 

"Oh," Josh says softly, blinking at Tyler who was now pulling his hood over his head. "I guess.. we're all good here." He finishes, looking over to the door. Tyler walks towards it. 

"Seeya round," Tyler says upon his exit, Josh gives him a wave. 

Josh gets home and finally passes out in the comfort of his own bed in front of an all night marathon of cartoon reruns. 

 

 

 

It had been a week since Tyler first came into the studio. Josh hadn't thought about him at all after that night, as usual, one time customers seemed to always slip his mind. 

It was early, an hour before opening when Josh heard the loud taps on the door. He was the only one accompanying the empty shop, his first appointment wasn't for another few hours — so the initial "What the hell?" that leaves his mouth is well deserved. 

He contemplated just leaving it, something of an accident or simply wanting to keep whoever it was waiting, but.

Service is service.

Josh trudged through to the front door in a tired manner, eyes still puffy from his pillow and body lagging minus caffeine. He could try to be rude if he wanted to, and that was the plan, until he looked through the clean glass at the skinny figure standing on the other side. 

Josh sighed and flicked the lock open. 

"Listen, man—"

"Josh, just the guy I wanted to see." Tyler chirped, toothy smile written beneath his lips. 

Josh scanned the man up and down, decently confused at the expensive looking suit cladding his frame. It took him a few seconds to register any words being spoken at him. Just the guy he wanted to see.

He looked less tired. Cleaner than the last time Josh saw him, a little taken aback at the fact that he's speaking in real sentences. And a happy tone. He must've caught him on a bad night last time. Or something. 

"We don't open 'til nine." He muttered in response, but Tyler was already sliding past him, letting himself into the warm embrace of the abandoned studio. He shrugged off his blazer in a gentle shimmy, leaving Josh to just rub his temples. 

Tyler was still smiling once Josh looked back up at his face, and it was everything he didn't want to see. 

"Shouldn't be smiling on your way to a funeral," Josh said bluntly, this time letting his eyes obviously sliding down the others outfit which pulls a giggle from the man, shaking his head. 

"Not a funeral," Tyler began, looking past Josh into the tattooing area. "But, I need another 'too. Like, A-S-A-P." Tyler spelled out with his tongue stuck to the inside of his cheek. 

Josh couldn't help but snort at the choice of words. Tyler bounced lightly on his toes and gave a look of hopefulness, looking down at his watch and back to Josh. "What do you say, huh?" 

"We're not open, Tyler." Josh repeated. 

"Please."

"What? It doesn't-"

Tyler clapped his hands together into a prayer. 

"Please."

 

 

 

Tyler's sleeve was pulled up to his elbow again, and Josh was plugging in the machine. The satisfied look on Tyler's face was enough to annoy anyone, but significantly less annoying than his next sentence,

"Another line, next to the other one."

Josh looked up at him with his tongue between his teeth. 

"You're not serious," he says, almost disappointed. 

Tyler just nodded. 

Josh let out a deep breath, but still sanitised the area, poured himself another cap of ink. Tyler crossed his ankles over at the bottom of the chair, his lower lip bitten down when Josh tests the faint buzz of the needle. 

"Freehand?"

"Yup." Tyler replies, 'P' popped. 

Josh pulls Tyler's arm closer to him and dips the needle in the ink, positioning his hand to get the right spacing between the lines. Tyler wiggles his fingers playfully. He feels the clench of his fist when he pulls the needle against his skin, dragging another short, straight line almost identical to the one healing beside it. 

He wipes it off, and Tyler's looking down at it like it's the best thing he's seen in his life. 

"Wow," He breathes.

"What?" Josh asks, lacing a chuckle in with his word while he swivels his chair around, glove snapping as it's ripped from his hand. 

"It's really great." Tyler answers, bringing the new ink up closer to his face. 

Josh is confused. Almost concerned. 

"It's a line. Literally a copy of the last one," 

"You're right. It is." Smiling, Tyler slides his free hand into his pocket and fishes out a fresh ten dollar note, placing it next to Josh's hand. 

He stands up from the seat, Josh gazing up at him while he shakes the wrinkles from his suit jacket. He slides it on gracefully. 

"I gotta wrap it," Josh interrupts, grabbing the tape from his table. 

"Don't worry about it," Tyler shakes his head, the unnerving smile back on his face while he turns around, not looking back until he's at the door again, leaving against the frame to see Josh, not exactly knowing what to do. 

"Thank you, Josh." Tyler remarks, saluting him before he's out the door again. 

Josh stays in his seat for a little while. He thinks he needs a nap. 

 

 

 

 

The next time Josh sees Tyler, he is frantic. There's a cut on his cheek and his shirt is torn, his hands are covered in dirt. Josh offers him a tissue for his bloody nose. 

One of the other artists in the studio had seen him come in and immediately asked him to leave, assuming he was looking for trouble, or was IN trouble. Tyler repeated his "No!" until Josh peeked his head out of the break room, calmly putting his leftovers down and moving towards the scene. 

"Hey, hey! Dude," Josh called when he saw Tyler being pushed towards the door, catching the attention of his coworker who insisted he had it covered, "He's my client, I got it," Josh reasoned. 

 

The pair sat in the back room with a frozen water bottle held to the side of Tyler's cheek, neither of them talking for a solid half hour. 

Josh broke the silence by clearing his throat, slapping his hands onto his thighs. 

"So." He stated, expecting at least a glance from Tyler, who remained quiet and still. 

He dragged his chair over to Tyler, sitting directly in front of him. 

"You wanna talk about it?" He asks, his voice firm enough to earn a flinch from the other. He feels bad. 

"No," Tyler replies gently. 

"Okay. Why'd you come here?" Josh asks anyway, watching Tyler wince while he removes the icy bottle from his face. 

"What do you mean?" He quips, still not looking at Josh. 

"It's just weird that you'd show up here," Josh says, shrugging his shoulders while inwardly examining the injured man, "Like, all bleed-y."

"I wanted to see you." Tyler says, voice phased with a seriousness that makes Josh's throat tighten. 

"You what?" He asks, immediately kicking himself for it when he sees Tyler's lips twitch upwards, his adams apple moving up and down in his throat. 

"I'm kidding. I need another tattoo." Tyler says with his voice still quiet, biting down on the devious smile that paints over his lips.

Josh's cheeks turn red. 

"I can't give you one today," Josh sighed, slapping his hands on his thighs and standing up. His break was almost over. 

"What?" Tyler looks up, taking a deep breath when he stands up. He puts the icy bottle down and begins to follow Josh. 

Josh stands in the doorway. Tyler stops in his tracks and 

"You need an appointment. We're busy, Tyler." Josh replies, annoyance clear in his voice. Tyler presses his lips together and nods.

"I'll come back later," 

"What? No, you can't," Josh shuts up, because Tyler was already on his way to the door. He watched as the boy left, everyone's eyes on him when the front bell jingles once again. 

Josh anticipates Tyler's arrival for the rest of the day. 

 

 

 

There was a moment of realisation when Josh wiped down the newest addition on Tyler's forearm, one that seemed so painfully obvious. 

He looked down at the three lines bonding on the pale skin, and he didn't bother to look up at Tyler while he asked, "Are you counting something?".

 

He heard Tyler's mouth open and close. It was kind of terrifying for Josh, who finally looked towards the boy to gage his response. It's not exactly normal for somebody to turn up every few weeks to get exactly the same thing inked on their skin. 

"Counting?" Tyler repeated, watching Josh's hands stick down the wrap with clear tape. 

"They look like tally marks." Josh stated. 

He thinks it's unprofessional to ask about someone's personal choice. But it's probably also unprofessional to agree to tattoo at 10pm, only with the knowledge that saying 'No' would achieve nothing. 

Tyler smiled, "Oh. Yeah, I'm counting." 

Josh nodded. 

He decided not to ask. 

 

 

 

An entire month passed before Tyler stepped foot into the shop again, catching Josh by surprise when he saw 'tyler j - josh by request' scribbled in the appointment book on the front desk. Josh didn't know where he disappeared to, but he bets it was something extravagant. 

He hears the door at 12:32 (he'll have to kick him for being late), and greets the man with a goofy smile and a jerky head nod. 

Tyler was buried in a sea of loose clothing. The drawstrings on his sweats were tied to their tightest capability, and his hands were covered by the long sleeves of his hoodie. "Josh,"

His voice was scratchy, he almost looked like he'd been crying just before he came in. 

"Hey, Ty. You ready?" Josh asked, feeling the relentless need speak delicately to the man. Obnoxious gets obnoxious. Kind gets kind. 

Tyler just nods, only letting his lips curve up the smallest amount before they both enter Josh's area. 

 

 

It's a little silent, Josh asking how Tyler's been and where he ran off to, only squeezing one word answers from the other. 

He didn't want to push, he just poured out some ink and cleaned Tyler's skin, no objections telling him that Tyler was here for the same thing again. 

The vibration of the machine covered up some of the tension stringing between the two, Tyler flinched. Josh turned it off. 

"Everything okay?" Josh hushes, less out of curiosity and more with a whole lot of care. 

He could see Tyler clenching his jaw. His hand comes up and he uses the grey material of his hoodie to wipe his nose slowly. 

"I didn't mean to move, I'm sorry. Keep going." 

Josh sighs, but he listens. A few seconds pass and a forth line is scraped into Tyler's milky skin, and Josh wonders why it took an entire month for the forth thing to happen to Tyler. 

He'll ask next time, maybe. 

He cleans it off and wraps it for Tyler, who silently pulls his sleeve back over it and follows Josh to the desk. 

He slides a twenty across the surface and Josh looks up at him. 

"That's for next time. My boyfriend broke up with me. Thank you for my tattoo, I'll be back soon." Tyler states. 

Josh doesn't really know how to respond to that. He doesn't have to, though, because Tyler is out the door. 

He puts the money into the till and nods his head once, blowing air through his lips like a horse. 

 

 

 

Three days later, Tyler came in again, just in time for the end of Josh's lunch break. 

He looked a lot better this time, Josh noticed, and even had a smile on his face when he was greeted. 

"You look rested." Josh says, just an observation. 

"I am rested. You busy?" Tyler was bouncing on his toes, he tucked his lower lip beneath his teeth while Josh checked his watch. 

"I have a client in fifteen. Will it be quick?"

Tyler grinned and removed his jacket, "Uh huh,".

 

 

 

The two made their way to Josh's area once again, and followed procedure. "Big one today," Tyler says, drawing Josh's attention while he cleaned his arm. 

"Big what?" Josh says, wondering if Tyler was going to break tradition, finally. 

"Big line. We're going diagonal today, my man." 

Josh snorted. The four lines paralleling on Tyler's arm were bare, aching for the finishing touch to exist upon them. 

"Dude. This, this is it," Josh takes a deep breath, bordering on dramatic, and it almost makes Tyler's lips split in four. 

"They grow up so fast. It'll be hard, I know, but so worth it. I promise you." Tyler replies, his voice faux-meaningful. 

Josh clicked on the machine, and looked up to Tyler once more, who refused to let the grin leave his mouth. 

"Across all of them?" Josh asked, he still wanted to be sure. 

"Yep." 

"And then you're done?"

"Yep."

He presses the needle against Tyler's skin once more, beginning to draw the perfect straight line directly over all of the previous ones. 

He gets curious, and now is the time he finds suitable to ask. "Are you gonna tell me what you're counting today?" 

He finishes just as the question leaves his mouth, the buzzing stops and Tyler looks at his arm. "Yep." He looks impressed, but he always does. 

Josh wipes the excess ink off for the final time. He's holding a piece of tape in his mouth when he asks. 

"What are you counting?" 

 

Tyler smiles, watching Josh cover his arm in plastic wrap. 

 

"How many times I've been tattooed by you."

 

Josh drops the tape.

**Author's Note:**

> wassup i found this prompt on tumblr and wrote this at like ??? midnight so it's not that good but i'm posting it anyway don't b afraid to tell me what you think EN JOY


End file.
